I'll update the first post and add more and more mythical creatures as it comes. I figure I'm not the only person obsessed with this kind of stuff, and why not have a little database in case one day you get bored browsing this site and figure to read about some cool mythical creatures.
I was watching The Terror and thought for a second that the show was about the Wendigo, though there are similarities it's not. I remember taking one class in which the professor mentioned the Wendigo Psychosis, which is a rather dramatic mental illness among the Algonquin based Native American tribes. It is described as an evil spirit or demonic entity that was able to possess humans and in some cases even transform into human being themselves. It is most commonly associated with the deepest winter-- a time of famine. A man (through hunger or personal failure) broke the taboo of eating human flesh. Possessed by an evil spirit, he became insatiably hungry no matter how much he ate. Sometimes the Wendigo Psychosis happened when food was available. Reportedly, it was localized in North Eastern American tribes and began to die out as soon as European anthropologists began documenting it.
There was one story in particular of a Cree Indian man named Swift Runner in 1878 who lived in what is now present-day Alberta, Canada. He married, had a family of 6 children, traded with the Hudson's Bay Company, and later served as a guide for colonists. However, during the winter of 1878-1879 starvation and misery hit the Cree people. He became possessed by Wendigo Psychosis (characterized by hallucinations and impulses to consume people a mental illness anthologists have identified in several Canadian tribes). He murdered his wife and family, cooked, and ate their flesh. He was later arrested, brought to trial and sentenced to death.
1. The Wendigo
Found in Algonquian legend, this mythical creature has been said to be seen in northern forests of the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes region of the USA and Canada. While early Native American cultures spoke of the Wendigo as a spirit, eventually it took on the form of a beast. This beast could infect someone who became tainted by extreme greed or if they ate the flesh of another human being. The Wendigo was said to poison the minds of humans, turning them into a Wendigo, and forcing them to constantly crave the flesh of humans.
The Wendigo is said to have a stag skull head, skin stretched impossibly tight over its bones, and sunken eyes. Additionally, whether in a beast form or spiritual entity, the Wendigo possesses supernatural abilities. These abilities include unnaturally large, fast, strong, and heightened senses. It is a hunter in which it stalks it's prey and seems to be immune to harsh climates. It can also mimic human voices to lure people from safety and driving them insane in the deep forest in order to possess them or eat them.
In addition, once a Wendigo eats another person the Wendigo becomes as big as the person they ate, creating an even bigger appetite. Their hunger will never be satiated. According to myths, the longer the Wendigo walks the earth the stronger their powers become. An old Wendigo can change the weather or make it extremely dark before sunset. It can also manipulate other creatures in the forest and have them attack others on command. Additionally, its speed and strength grows with age as well as its ability to heal.
Wendigo in movies/books: Stephen King's Pet Sematary (book and movie) and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Chapter 5) The Wendigo by Alvin Schwartz (On Halloween sometimes I'll pull this book out, and have my students follow along to an audio of one of the stories. Here's the audio for The Wendigo, the first time I've heard this creature was in this book as a child:
)
I was watching The Terror and thought for a second that the show was about the Wendigo, though there are similarities it's not. I remember taking one class in which the professor mentioned the Wendigo Psychosis, which is a rather dramatic mental illness among the Algonquin based Native American tribes. It is described as an evil spirit or demonic entity that was able to possess humans and in some cases even transform into human being themselves. It is most commonly associated with the deepest winter-- a time of famine. A man (through hunger or personal failure) broke the taboo of eating human flesh. Possessed by an evil spirit, he became insatiably hungry no matter how much he ate. Sometimes the Wendigo Psychosis happened when food was available. Reportedly, it was localized in North Eastern American tribes and began to die out as soon as European anthropologists began documenting it.
There was one story in particular of a Cree Indian man named Swift Runner in 1878 who lived in what is now present-day Alberta, Canada. He married, had a family of 6 children, traded with the Hudson's Bay Company, and later served as a guide for colonists. However, during the winter of 1878-1879 starvation and misery hit the Cree people. He became possessed by Wendigo Psychosis (characterized by hallucinations and impulses to consume people a mental illness anthologists have identified in several Canadian tribes). He murdered his wife and family, cooked, and ate their flesh. He was later arrested, brought to trial and sentenced to death.
1. The Wendigo
Found in Algonquian legend, this mythical creature has been said to be seen in northern forests of the Atlantic coast and the Great Lakes region of the USA and Canada. While early Native American cultures spoke of the Wendigo as a spirit, eventually it took on the form of a beast. This beast could infect someone who became tainted by extreme greed or if they ate the flesh of another human being. The Wendigo was said to poison the minds of humans, turning them into a Wendigo, and forcing them to constantly crave the flesh of humans.
The Wendigo is said to have a stag skull head, skin stretched impossibly tight over its bones, and sunken eyes. Additionally, whether in a beast form or spiritual entity, the Wendigo possesses supernatural abilities. These abilities include unnaturally large, fast, strong, and heightened senses. It is a hunter in which it stalks it's prey and seems to be immune to harsh climates. It can also mimic human voices to lure people from safety and driving them insane in the deep forest in order to possess them or eat them.
In addition, once a Wendigo eats another person the Wendigo becomes as big as the person they ate, creating an even bigger appetite. Their hunger will never be satiated. According to myths, the longer the Wendigo walks the earth the stronger their powers become. An old Wendigo can change the weather or make it extremely dark before sunset. It can also manipulate other creatures in the forest and have them attack others on command. Additionally, its speed and strength grows with age as well as its ability to heal.
Wendigo in movies/books: Stephen King's Pet Sematary (book and movie) and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Chapter 5) The Wendigo by Alvin Schwartz (On Halloween sometimes I'll pull this book out, and have my students follow along to an audio of one of the stories. Here's the audio for The Wendigo, the first time I've heard this creature was in this book as a child:
)
